Complaint Filed Against Former Defense Secretary for Torture, Abuse atGuantĂˇnamo and Abu Ghraib

October 26, 2007, Paris, France â€“ Today, the International Federationfor Human Rights (FIDH) along with the Center for Constitutional Rights(CCR), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR),and the French League for Human Rights (LDH) filed a complaint with theParis Prosecutor before the â€śCourt of First Instanceâ€ť (Tribunal deGrande Instance) charging former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeldwith ordering and authorizing torture. Rumsfeld was in Paris for a talksponsored by Foreign Policy magazine.

â€śThe filing of this French case against Rumsfeld demonstrates that wewill not rest until those U.S. officials involved in the torture programare brought to justice. Rumsfeld must understand that he has no place tohide. A torturer is an enemy of all humankind,â€ť said CCR PresidentMichael Ratner.

â€śFrance is under the obligation to investigate and prosecute Rumsfeldâ€™saccountability for crimes of torture in Guantanamo and Iraq. France hasno choice but to open an investigation if an alleged torturer is on itsterritory. I hope that the fight against impunity will not be sacrificedin the name of politics. We call on France to refuse to be a safe havenfor criminals.â€ť said FIDH President Souhayr Belhassen.

â€śWe want to combat impunity and therefore demand a judicialinvestigation and a criminal prosecution wherever there is jurisdictionover the torture incidents,â€ť said ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck.

The criminal complaint states that because of the failure of authoritiesin the United States and Iraq to launch any independent investigationinto the responsibility of Rumsfeld and other high-level U.S. officialsfor torture despite a documented paper trail and government memosimplicating them in direct as well as command responsibility for torture â€“ and because the U.S. has refused to join the International CriminalCourt â€“ it is the legal obligation of states such as France to take upthe case.

In this case, charges are brought under the 1984 Convention againstTorture, ratified by both the United States and France, which has beenused in France in previous torture cases.

French courts therefore have an obligation under the Convention againstTorture to prosecute individuals responsible for acts of torture if theyare present on French territory (1).

This will be the only case filed while he is in the country, which makesthe obligations to investigate and prosecute under international lawextremely strong.

Rumsfeldâ€™s presence on French territory gives French courts jurisdictionto prosecute him for having ordered and authorized torture and cruel,inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraiband elsewhere.

In addition, having resigned from his position of U.S. Secretary ofDefense a year ago, Rumsfeld can no longer try to claim immunity as ahead of state or government official. Nor can he claim immunity asformer state official, as international law does not recognize suchimmunity in the case of international crimes including the crime of torture.

Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, former commander ofAbu Ghraib and other U.S.-run prisons in Iraq, submitted writtentestimony to the Paris Prosecutor for the plaintiffsâ€™ case on Rumsfeldâ€™sresponsibility for the abuse of detainees.

This is the fifth time Rumsfeld has been charged with direct involvementin torture stemming from his role in the Bush administrationâ€™s programof torture post-9/11.

Two previous criminal complaints were filed in Germany under itsuniversal jurisdiction statute, which allows Germany to prosecuteserious international crimes regardless of where they occurred or thenationality of the perpetrators or victims. One case was filed in fall2004 by CCR, FIDH, and Berlin attorney Wolfgang Kaleck; that case wasdismissed in February 2005 in response to official pressure from theU.S., in particular from the Pentagon.

The second case was filed in fall 2006 by the same groups as well asdozens of national and international human rights groups, Nobel PeacePrize winners and the United Nations former Special Rapporteur onTorture. The 2006 complaint was presented on behalf of 12 Iraqi citizenswho had been held and abused in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and one Saudicitizen still held at GuantĂˇnamo. This case was dismissed in April 2007,and an appeal will be filed against this decision next week.

Two other cases were filed against Rumsfeld in Argentina in 2005 and inSweden in 2007.

The complaint and the documents attached are available on FIDH Website :

(1) See articles 689 para 1 and 2 of the french Code of CriminalProcedure : Article 689-1)

In accordance with the international Conventions quoted in thefollowing articles, a person guilty of committing any of the offenceslisted by these provisions outside the territory of the Republic and whohappens to be in France may be prosecuted and tried by French courts.The provisions of the present article apply to attempts to commit theseoffences, in every case where attempt is punishable. Article 689-2

For the implementation of the Convention against Torture and otherCruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted in New Yorkon 10th December 1984, any person guilty of torture in the sense ofarticle 1 of the Convention may be prosecuted and tried in accordancewith the provisions of article 689-1.